Deaths in April - 2017

Soviet era poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko died April 1 at the age of 84. His collections include Wild Berries, A Precocious Autobiography and Don't Die Before You're Dead.

Creator of Roland electronic instruments, Ikutaro Kakehashi died on April 1st. Works include I Believe in Music.

The engineer behind the creation of the drum machine, Ikutaro Kakehashi died April 1 at the age of 87. He wrote I Believe in Music.

Blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks died April 1 at the age of 83. He wrote Blues for Dummies.

Chess champion Arthur Bisguier died April 5 at the age of 87. He wrote American Chess Masters from Morphy to Fischer and Art of Bisguier.

Actor and comedian Don Rickles died April 6 at the age of 90. He wrote Rickles' Book: A Memoir and Rickles' Letters.

Gospel musician Ben Speer died April 7 at the age of 86. He wrote the Matchless Love songbook.

Writer and editor Glenn O'Brien died April 7 at the age of 70. His books include The Cool School, How to Be a Man and The Style Guy.

Author and publisher Jeremy Lewis has died at the age of 75. His books include Penguin Special: The Story of Allen Lane, Cyril Connolly: A Life and Shades of Greene: One Generation of an English Family.

Self taught musicologist Louis Sarno died April 1 at the age of 62. His books include Song From the Forest and Bayaka.

Prolific children's author Patricia McKissack died April 7 at the age of 75. Her books include A Picture of Freedom, Flossie and the Fox and Goin' Someplace Special.

Dorothy Mengering, best known as David Letterman's mother, died April 11 at the age of 95. She wrote Home cookin' with Dave's Mom.

Comic actor Charlie Murphy died April 12 at the age of 57. He wrote The Making of a Stand-up Guy.

Dan Rooney owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, died April 13 at the age of 84. He wrote Allegheny City: A History of Pittsburgh's North Side and Dan Rooney: My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL.

Actress Joan See died April 5 at the age of 83. She wrote Acting in Commercials.

Public relations executive Al Golin died April 8 at the age of 87. He wrote Trust or Consequences.

Episcopal Bishop Frederick Houk Borsch died April 11 at the age of 81. His many books include Introducing the Lessons of the Church Year, Anglicanism and the Bible and Many Things in Parables.

Sit-com writer Trish Vradenburg died April 17 at the age of 70. She is best known for her campaign for Alzheimer's research and wrote Liberated Lady and Surviving Grace.

Computer scientist Harry D. Huskey died April 9 at the age of 101. He wrote the Computer Handbook.

Psychiatrist Dr. Robert L. Sadoff died April 17 at the age of 81. His books include Legal Issues in the Care of Psychiatric patients and Forensic Psychiatry.

Judge John Thomas Noonan died April 17 at the age of 90. His books include Contraception: A History of Its Treatment by Catholic Theologians and The Lustre of Our Country.

Artist Barkley L. Hendricks died April 18 at the age of 72. His work can be seen in Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool.

Poet Elizabeth Sargent died April 10 at the age of 96. Her books include Love Poems of Elizabeth Sargent, The African Boy and Conversations about Writing.

Robert M. Pirsig died April 24 at the age of 88. He's best known for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Neo-conservative editor and columnist Kate O'Beirne died April 23 at the age of 67. She wrote Women Who Make the World Worse.

Shakespearean theatre director Michael Bogdanov died April 16 at the age of 78. He wrote English Shakespeare Company: the Story of the 'Wars of the Roses,' 1986-1989.

Olympic swimming coach Chuck Wielgus died April 23 at the age of 67. His books include The In-Your-Face Basketball Book and The Back-in-Your-Face Guide to Pick-Up Basketball.

Political theorist Benjamin R. Barber died April 24 at the age of 77. His books include Jihad vs. McWorld, Consumed and Fear's Empire.

Physicist Leonard Reiffel died April 15 at the age of 89. He wrote a science fiction novel called The Contaminant.

Beano cartoonist Leo Baxendale died at 86 on 23rd April. He was the creator of much-loved characters, The Bash Street Kids and Minnie the Minx. His autobiography is A Very Funny Business.

Apologies - I double-posted for Leo Baxendale.

Performance artist Vito Acconci died April 28 at the age of 77. His works include Language to Cover a Page, Vito Acconci: Diary of a Body and Vito Acconci: Photographic works.

Mountain climber Ueli Steck died April 30 at the age of 40, doing what he loved. His works include 8000 and Speed: die drei. (Follow the link to get the entire name, my keyboard sadly doesn't have German fonts).

Playwright William M. Hoffman died April 29 at the age ofl 78. He wrote As Is.

Biographer Jean Babette Stein died April 30 at the age of 83. Her books include Edie: An American Biography and West of Eden: An American Place.

Philosopher Hubert L. Dreyfus died April 22 at the age of 87. His books include Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics and All Things Shining.

Radio announcer June LeBell died April 30 at the age of 73. She wrote Kitchen Classics from the Philharmonic.

Professor Roger C. Schlobin died April 25 at the age of 72. He wrote Andre Norton: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography and edited The Aesthetics of Fantasy Literature and Art.

Prolific children's book illustrator Peter Spier died April 27 at the age of 89. His books include People, Noah's Ark and The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night.

Restauranteur Henry Chung died April 23 at the age of 98. He wrote Henry Chung's Hunan Style Chinese Cookbook and The Oriental Policy of the United States.

Artist Lee Hall died April 17 at the age of 82. She wrote Elaine and Bill: Portrait of a Marriage.

Anne R. Dick died April 28 at the age of 90. She was the es-wife of sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick and wrote The Search for Philip K. Dick.